Summary
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas recommends summarily remanding Erik Salvador Garcia’s attempted removal of a Texas misdemeanor speeding prosecution. The court concludes that federal-question jurisdiction is unavailable, the removal was untimely under 28 U.S.C. § 1455, and the prosecution does not qualify for removal under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1442 or 1443. The court also cancels the scheduled initial conference and provides a fourteen-day period for objections.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether federal-question jurisdiction exists over a removed state criminal prosecution based on the defendant's assertion of federal constitutional violations.
- Whether the removal was timely under 28 U.S.C. § 1455(b)(1).
- Whether the speeding prosecution fell within any statutory category permitting removal under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1442 or 1443.
Holdings
- Federal-question jurisdiction did not exist because the underlying proceeding was a state criminal action for a state-law speeding offense, not a civil action arising under federal law, and the defendant's constitutional defenses could not create federal-question jurisdiction.
- The removal was untimely because 28 U.S.C. § 1455(b)(1) requires removal within 30 days after arraignment or before trial, whichever is earlier, and Garcia removed the case nearly two years after his conviction.
- Section 1442 did not authorize removal because the prosecution was not brought against the United States, a federal agency, or a federal officer, did not concern title derived from a federal officer, and involved no other circumstance specified by the statute.
- Garcia could not remove under either subsection of § 1443 because he did not identify a federal right stated in terms of racial equality or a state-law barrier to enforcing such a right, and § 1443(2) is available only to federal officers and persons assisting them.
- Summary remand was required because it clearly appeared from the notice of removal and attached exhibits that removal was not permitted.
Factual background
Garcia was cited for speeding on August 15, 2023, and convicted of the misdemeanor in the Municipal Court of Pasadena, Texas, on December 6, 2023. After the appeal deadline had expired, he submitted a motion to set aside the judgment, asserting that the municipal court lacked authority over him and that a not-guilty plea had been entered over his objection. The municipal court took no action on that motion, and Garcia then attempted to remove the criminal case to federal court based on alleged due-process and Sixth Amendment violations.
Procedural history
Garcia was convicted of misdemeanor speeding in the Municipal Court of Pasadena, Texas, on December 6, 2023. Nearly two years later, he submitted a motion to set aside the state-court judgment, which the municipal court did not act on. Garcia then filed a notice of removal in the Southern District of Texas on November 10, 2025. The court recommended summary remand because federal-question jurisdiction was unavailable, the removal was untimely, and the prosecution did not fall within the federal criminal-removal statutes.
Remand instructions
The case should be summarily remanded to the Municipal Court of the City of Pasadena. The February 27, 2026 initial conference was canceled. The parties were given fourteen days from service of the Report and Recommendation to file written objections.